10th Anniversary: President's Plan For Emergency AIDS Relief

Recognizing the 10th Anniversary of the U.S.
President's Plan For Emergency Aids Relief
(PEPFAR)

Fact Sheet

Office of the
Spokesperson

Washington, DC

June 18, 2013

Today,
Secretary Kerry marked the 10th Anniversary of the creation
of the historic U.S. President’s Plan for Emergency AIDS
Relief (PEPFAR) by announcing that the millionth baby will
be born HIV-free this month due to PEPFAR-supported
prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programs.
The Secretary also announced that a new PEPFAR analysis
shows that there are 13 countries that have reached the
programmatic “tipping point” in their AIDS
epidemic.

PEPFAR Background

Through
PEPFAR, as of September 30, 2012, the U.S. directly
supported more than 5.1 million people on antiretroviral
treatment (ART). This number is up from 1.7 million in 2008
– a three-fold increase in only four years.

In FY 2012,
PEPFAR programs supported antiretroviral drugs (ARV) to
prevent mother-to-child transmission for more than 750,000
pregnant women living with HIV. Thanks to this effort, an
estimated 230,000 infant HIV infections were averted in 2012
alone. PEPFAR also supported HIV testing and counseling for
more than 46.5 million people in 2012.

One
Million Babies Born HIV-Free

This month, the
one-millionth baby will be born HIV-free because of PEPFAR
support – something unimaginable ten years ago when the
program began. Antiretroviral drugs can prevent
mother-to-child transmission of HIV. The earliest PMTCT
regimen decreased the likelihood that a mother would
transmit HIV to her baby from 35 percent (with no PMTCT
intervention) to 24 percent. Today, we have far more
efficacious regimens and we have learned how to implement
them more effectively. For example, under Option B+, the
same combination of ARV medications used to treat adults
living with HIV will be offered to all HIV positive pregnant
women for life, reducing the likelihood that a mother will
transmit HIV to her infant to less than five percent. In
addition, Option B+ has the distinct advantages of
maintaining the mother’s health, providing lifelong
reduction of HIV transmission to uninfected sexual partners,
and preventing mother-to-child transmission in future
pregnancies.

Successful implementation of this approach
across countries with high HIV burdens can help achieve the
commitment made by President Obama on World AIDS Day in 2011
for the United States to support six million people on ART
and provide antiretroviral drugs for 1.5 million pregnant
women living with HIV by the end of 2013.

13
Countries Have Reached the Programmatic Tipping Point in
Their Epidemic

One way of measuring progress
toward the goal of an AIDS-free generation is to compare the
number of annual new adult HIV infections with the annual
increase in adults on treatment. By reducing infectivity
through effective treatment and rapidly increasing coverage
of ART, it is possible to bring the number of annual new
adult HIV infections below the annual increase in adults on
ART – thereby achieving the programmatic “tipping
point.”

When the Obama Administration released the
PEPFAR Blueprint for Creating an AIDS-Free Generation last
World AIDS Day, seven countries were at this programmatic
tipping point. According to a new PEPFAR analysis, 13
countries are actually at this tipping point.

This
remarkable progress is thanks to the combined and
coordinated efforts of all partners involved in the fight
against global AIDS. Through PEPFAR, we are firmly committed
to help countries in moving toward and beyond this tipping
point. But we cannot do it alone. This is a shared
responsibility.

PEPFAR Key Populations Challenge
Grants

At the International AIDS Conference last
July, Secretary Clinton announced the creation of a $20
million Key Populations Challenge Fund (KPCF) to support
country-led plans to expand high-impact comprehensive
package of HIV prevention, treatment, and care services for
key populations, which include men who have sex with men
(MSM), people who inject drugs (PWID), and sex workers (SW).
HIV disproportionately impacts key populations. For example,
some studies have shown that MSM were 19 times more likely
to be living with HIV than people in the general population;
and that SW were 13.5 times more likely to be living with
HIV when compared to other females of reproductive age in
the general population. Globally, among PWID, 16 million
individuals report injection drug use, and an estimated
three million PWID are living with HIV.

Secretary Kerry
announced today that six countries (and two regional
programs) will be awarded funds. The countries are Cambodia,
Ghana, Nepal, Senegal, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. The regional
programs include PEPFAR’s Asia and Central American
regions. These funds will be leveraged as PEPFAR’s works
hand-in-hand with partner country governments and civil
society to strengthen sustainable programs and interventions
for key populations.

PEPFAR Heroes
Award

As part of the 10th anniversary
commemoration, PEPFAR is launching the “PEPFAR Heroes:
Giving Hope, Saving Lives” contest. The contest seeks to
highlight outstanding individuals who have demonstrated
extraordinary commitment and passion in serving people
and/or communities living with and affected by HIV, and to
convey the partnership of the American people with the
people of partner countries in creating an AIDS-free
generation.

Egyptian jets bombed Islamic State targets in Libya on Monday, a day after the group there released a video showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians, drawing Cairo directly into the conflict across its border. More>>

Ambassadors representing two countries under attack from ISIL, Bashar Ja’afari (right) of Syria, and Mohamed Ali Alhakim of Iraq, speak to journalists following the adoption of a Security Council resolution targeting sources of financing for ... More>>

Abdullah Abu Rahma, coordinator of the popular committee in the village of Bil’in where Kayla joined the protests, told ISM: “Kayla came to Palestine to stand in solidarity with us. She marched with us and faced the military that occupies our ... More>>

3 February 2015 – Parents in the United States must vaccinate their children against measles in order to maintain the high levels of immunity necessary in keeping outbreaks of the aggressively contagious virus small and contained, the United Nations World ... More>>

3 February 2015 – For the second time in as many days, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the United Nations Security Council have jointly condemned the brutal killing of a civilian by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) – this time deploring ... More>>